The Secret Life of Books

Classic books are considered with a fresh eye. Returning to the authors' original manuscripts and letters, expert writers and performers bring their personal insights to these great works.

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Created By

Status

Ended

Original Name

The Secret Life of Books

First Air Date

September 2, 2014

Last Air Date

November 16, 2015

Seasons

Episodes

Language

English

Production Companies

Networks

BBC Four

S02E06

Swallows and Amazons

Former journalist and keen amateur sailor John Sergeant takes to the water in the wake of the plucky young heroes of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons, and learns how a globe-trotting foreign correspondent and acquaintance of Lenin and Trotsky came to perfect a new, more authentic kind of children's literature that featured real children doing real things in real places.

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